STORY OF THE DAY

[Ramesh Ramnani]

Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Boggart?

Long, long ago, Rabbit, known to be a fearless and respected warrior, was a great friend of Eye Walker, a witch with great magical powers. Out climbing a high mountain one hot day, Rabbit declared, “I’m tired and so thirsty”. Eye Walker, picking up a leaf, blew on it, turning it to a gourd of water. Rabbit drank it all, saying nothing. Later, when he said “I’m so hungry”, Eye Walker picked up a stone, blew on it, handing Rabbit a turnip that he ate with relish, still not saying a word.

   They had almost reached the top when Rabbit fell, rolling all the way down to the bottom. Eye Walker used a magic salve which eased his pains and healed his broken bones in minutes. Still, Rabbit didn’t say a thing.

   Some days later Eye Walker, hoping to go on another long walk, searched high and low for Rabbit, who was nowhere to be found. A week later, she met him quite by accident. “Rabbit, why are you hiding and avoiding me?” she asked.

   “Because your magic scares me. Stay away from me”.

   “I used my powers to help you, and now you refuse my friendship!” Sadly, she added, “Though I can easily destroy you with my magic, I won’t, because we have been such good friends. But, from this day forward I lay a curse on you and your kind. From now on, you will attract what you fear, and your fears will come to you”.
 
   A frightened Rabbit now shouts: “Eagle, don’t you dare come near me!” If he feels Eagle hasn’t heard him, Rabbit yells even louder, “Eagle, stay away from me, do you hear!” Eagle, now hearing Rabbit, can come find him, and kill and eat him.

   An old proverb cautions us: What you most wish for and what you most fear will both come true! If we believe that we can influence, if not actually create our own ‘realities’, then it makes sense that by wanting something desperately or not wanting something equally desperately — we give those ‘things’ a lot of energy to help them manifest in our lives.

   Befriending our fears has often been offered as a solution; easier said than done, we hear ourselves say! However, a popular set of children’s books shows us another brilliant and often effective way, by introducing us to The Boggart ...

   In Celtic mythology, a boggart was a mischievous household spirit, given to making life miserable for those in whose houses it decided to stay. In the Harry Potter books, a boggart is given an intriguing new twist as a kind of shapeshifter. When anyone looks at it, it changes shape to become whatever that person fears the most.
 
   Due to its tendency to hide in relatively small, dark, enclosed places, such as in closets, under beds, or in tree hollows, it is quite likely that the boggart’s natural form is fairly small; only when we give it any importance does it seem HUGE!

   Now here comes the best part — to make the boggart disappear, you can use the ‘Riddikulus’ spell, knowing that boggarts are weakened by laughter. This is achieved by transforming the image of your greatest fear into something else, something amusing or silly — therefore harmless — pointing a wand at the boggart and confidently saying: “Riddikulus”.

   What’s your boggart? And how will you use the spell?

[Ramesh Ramnani]

FLOUR FALLEN INTO THE MUD

Kabeer Keecharr Aataa Gir Pariaa Kishoo Na Aaio Haath. Peesat Peesat Chaabiaa Soee Nibihiaa Saath :

Kabeer, the flour has fallen into the mud; nothing has come into my hands. That which was eaten while it was being ground - that alone is of any use

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Everyone must be knowing as to how the flour was grinded in old days in villages of India. Ladies used to get up every night early and grind fresh flour (Aataa Peesan) for about couple of hours, enough to make Rotee etc. for the entire family and any guests. Manual grinding-mill called Chakkee consisting of two circular grinding stones (Purre or millstones) was commonly used. The top stone of the circular mill apparatus had a little hole (Moree) in its middle for pouring grains (Daane), and a handle near the edge to facilitate its rotating on the bottom stone. Around both stones was a small and narrow channel (usually made of clay) to collect flour. At times many ladies from the neighborhood would assemble in one place to grind the flour together in a concert like manner, mothers with their infants in their laps. They would joyously sing folk songs (Lok Geet), and eat a bit of grains here and there while grinding. They would generally finish this daily chore before the day light (Poh Pahatanee), collect their flour and walk in the dark and often muddy street back to their respective homes. It was very natural and wonderful scene, not easy to describe. Sometime, while walking back to their homes, one would slip in the unlighted muddy street (Galee), spilling her entire flour into the mud! Baabaa Kabir Sahib is using that incident here as an example to impart Spiritual Wisdom to all of us.
 
There are some Spiritual suggestions offered by this verse. First, many of us visit a religious place or attend a Spiritual activity for couple of hours here and there, and as soon we leave the place, we end up engaging ourselves rest of the day in the worldly nonsense (lust, anger, greed, attachment, self-conceit, jealousy, stubborn mindedness and there numerous variations), leading us to actions that cause grief or inconvenience to other living entities, and serious damage to the environment and ecology of the planet. Such efforts of ours visiting religious places or attending Spiritual activities for few hours and than allowing in rest of the time our life to fritter away in the pursuit of sense objects is similar to the efforts of the woman whose flour has fallen into the mud and has nothing to show for her labor. It is like shaking off whatever we learn right there, and head home empty handed. By just attending cogragation, the mind thinks it has become Dharmaatamaa, Spiritual or better than others, without applying the teachings to daily life. This ia trap of our mind (false ego-sense or Haume). A little story may elaborate this point.

A shop keeper took his young son to a religious congregation. His young son enjoyed it so much that he regularly started going there by himself. One day he was alone minding his father's shop. A cow came and started eating flour from one of the the barrels in the shop. The son saw it but did not stop the cow from eating the flour. Meanwhile his father showed up at the shop and became furious upon seeing a cow eating flour, and his son doing nothing about it. The old man angrily inquired, "Are you brain damaged? Do you not see the cow eating flour?". "Yes father, I see it", replied the son. "Then why are you not doing anything about it?", asked the father. "Because I heard in the yesterday's congregation that the same One God ravels in all beings", explained the son. The old man said, "You fool, you are supposed to shake off all you learn right there in the congregation. You are not supposed to bring any teachings home! Look at me, I have been attending the congregation all my life, have I become like you? No, because I leave teachings behind right there before departing the congregation!"

[Ramesh Ramnani]

Be Cool, Draw Energy From Spiritual Devotion

Have you seen how peacefully a child sleeps in the lap of his parent, even in a noisy, crowded local train? The hustle-bustle disturbs everyone, but not the child, due to his implicit faith in the protection of his parent.

   All of us strive diligently to overcome our many fears: financial, familial, social, academic and physical. However, the necessary security measures like insurances, helmets, buzzer alarms and health check-ups fail to free us from a disconcerting sense of insecurity within us. Why?

   All fear originates in an unbalanced, unrealistic material conception of life. The material aspect of our life has its importance; we need to feed, clothe, house and provide for ourselves and our loved ones. Krishna says in the Bhagavad Gita that when we seek our sense of identity, self-worth, security and pleasure exclusively from our material positions and possessions, we open ourselves to fear. Because the material realm is characterised by constant, unpredictable changes, which often threaten to destroy or harm whatever is dear to us. We prepare ourselves to face some of the small, predictable and controllable changes, but still we consciously or subconsciously dread the huge, unpredictable and uncontrollable changes.

   How should we overcome fear? The more things change, the more we need to embrace the things that don’t change: “Of the material, there is no endurance and of the spiritual, there is no cessation”. Beyond the stage of material activity that preoccupies our mind lies a vast, unexplored realm of spiritual tranquillity. We are spiritual beings, souls, originally from a spiritual world, the kingdom of God, who is our eternal loving father. Currently we are occupying material bodies and inhabiting this material world. The more we harmonise with our spiritual nature, the more we become fearless. Understanding that we are, at our core, spiritual and, hence indestructible, fills us with an unshakeable selfsecurity; we recognise that worldly upheavals that affect our material assets have no power whatsoever to hurt us.

   By chanting the holy names of BABA SAI like the Sai Mahamantra, we progressively experience both our own spiritual identity and BABA’s protective presence and guidance in our life. The more we enrich our faith by chanting, the more our devotion for BABA increases. And when we make our life’s work a devotional offering for His service, we focus more on the object of our service. This shift of focus releases large reserves of mental energy, which are choked by our worry about the future. Chanting gives us the calmness to see that almost all fears are more perceived than experienced. The more we become free from fear of the future, the more we can fully absorb ourselves in our present duties.

   Spiritual principles and practices empower us to access and utilise even our material talents better. Ultimately spirituality is the only way to conquer the greatest of all fears — death. For a mature devotee, death is not a fearful termination of existence, but a joyful reunion with BABA SAI. Just as the child stays peaceful amidst chaos, let us become tranquil amidst ups and downs by empowering ourselves with spiritual devotion.

[Ramesh Ramnani]

Happy Gurupoornima....Guru as Guiding Light To Achieve Harmony

Everyone experiences the soul inside the body. The ‘I’ is different from body, sense organs, mind, vital airs and also knowledge. We refer to ‘my’ hand, ‘my’ eyes, ‘my’ mind and ‘my’ knowledge, thereby differentiating the soul from the body and sense organs.
   
The body is meant for the use of the soul. The body is also supported by the soul. Unlike a cup which supports water, which is inside it, the soul which is actually inside the body supports the body. If the soul leaves the body, the body just cannot support itself and it falls. Also, the body is controlled by the soul. Soul is the one which makes the decisions on what the body should do. Philosopher-saint Ramanuja extended this relationship of body-soul to the entire universe and God. The entire universe is the body of God. The Vedic texts declare univocally this bodysoul relationship of the entire universe with God.
   
God lives within all in the universe as the inner-self. Hence all are meant for the purpose of God, are supported and are controlled by God. God is also the inner-self of our self. Our self is also being controlled and supported by Him and is meant for His purpose only. This kind of a perception can lead to harmony.
   
In our body, one hand would not cause injury to the other hand as it knows that both hands are part of the same self. In the same way, one person would not cause injury to another if this view of all things being the body of God is realised. Then no one would cause injury to anyone else. Would it not lead to a wonderful, peaceful world?
   
If there is an injury in one of the legs, would the hands not help in applying balm, massaging it? This is because the legs and hands belong to the same self. In the same way, if we realise that all beings are the body of the Supreme One, would one not help another in trouble instinctively? Would that not lead to a harmonious world?
   
Though we can easily understand such a concept, it is most difficult to practise because one needs to train the mind to start thinking in this direction. This can be achieved by meditation or upaasana which yogis practise and so they start seeing God in everyone. People like Ramakrishna Paramahansa, Ramana Maharshi and Aurobindo were yogis who practised such views and people around them have actually seen this. Hence one cannot say that it is not practically possible to adopt such a view in life. It is only through hard practice and ‘sadhana’ that one can train the mind to practise the perspective of seeing God as the universal self.
   
The Upanishads, Gita and other texts have detailed methods of bringing such concepts to practice. But it is very difficult for one to read, understand and assimilate the message of these texts directly. Hence one needs to go to a guru who has understood and practised these realities and study all these universal truths under the guru and then put them into practice.
   
A spiritual aspirant has to first identify a guru or wait for a guru to come to him and then get initiated into the spiritual path and continue it till the end with the single goal of getting liberated.

[Ramesh Ramnani]

Parable Of The Pencil - Pencil story

The Pencil Maker took the pencil aside, just before putting him into the box.

"There are 5 things you need to know," he told the pencil, "Before I send you out into the world. Always remember them and never forget, and you will become the best pencil you can be."

"One: You will be able to do many great things, but only if you allow yourself to be held in Someone's hand."

"Two: You will experience a painful sharpening from time to time, but you'll need it to become a better pencil."

"Three: You will be able to correct any mistakes you might make."

"Four: The most important part of you will always be what's inside."

"And Five: On every surface you are used on, you must leave your mark. No matter what the condition, you must continue to write."

The pencil understood and promised to remember, and went into the box with purpose in its heart.

Now replacing the place of the pencil with you.  Always remember them and never forget, and you will become the best person you can be.

One: You will be able to do many great things, but only if you allow yourself to be held in God's hand. And allow other human beings to access you for the many gifts you possess.

Two: You will experience a painful sharpening from time to time, by going through various problems in life, but you'll need it to become a stronger person.

Three: You will be able to correct any mistakes you might make.

Four: The most important part of you will always be what's on the inside.

And Five: On every surface you walk through, you must leave your mark. No matter what the situation, you must continue to do your duties.

Allow this parable on the pencil to encourage you to know that you are a special person and only you can fulfill the purpose to which you were born to accomplish.

Never allow yourself to get discouraged and think that your life is insignificant and cannot make a change.

[OmSaiRamNowOn]

SPELL OF LIFE

There was a king who had a servant who was a great drunkard. Once, wishing to amuse himself, the king told the other servants to give the man a lot to drink and to put him into his own bed when he was completely overcome. When the day broke, there were musicians playing, as was the custom, and ten or twelve girls were singing in the king's room to waken him.

When the servant awoke he thought, 'What has happened to me? Last night I was a servant; now I am in the king's bed and everything is kingly! Am I a servant or am I a king?' When he looked at the girls, they all bowed. Everyone called him 'Your Majesty'.

He got up and went out. Then he came to the Durbar. There he was seated on a throne and all the vizirs came, bowed before him, and presented their addresses. He thought, 'I must be a king. If I had only been a king in the bedroom, it would have been nothing, but here too everyone bows and says "Your Majesty!"'

The whole day he enjoyed his kingship. But in the evening his wife came. The night before, when he did not come home, she had thought that perhaps he was lying drunk somewhere. She looked for him everywhere, and when she could not find him she went to the palace. No one stopped her, because the king had given his orders. When her husband saw her he looked at her as if she were death; he thought, 'I cannot be a king, because if I were, my wife would not be here. I shall have to go with her!' She said, 'What are you doing here? You did not come home; I have had no food, and you are enjoying yourself here. Come with me.' He said, 'I do not know you; go away.' But she said, 'You are my husband, come with me.' And she dragged him away, while he kept on saying, 'I am a king, I am a king.'

Man in his dream of life is always running after the passing clouds. And when does he awaken? When the wife comes. And what is the wife? The wife is the destructiveness of nature; and when she comes as death he sees that all that he has and all that he calls his own will be left behind: his name, his fame, his possessions. Everything is for those who live, and for him there is only the grave. He can take nothing with him. Then he realizes that none of these things can give him everlasting peace and satisfaction, and he looks for something which can give him these.

It is only a question of his consciousness.A awakened person dies before his death, and experiences in life what the condition will be after death. In other words, he invites his wife to visit him, and welcomes her through his kingship, so that he may not have to be dragged away by her but may even enjoy life with her, with his wife on earth.

[Ramesh Ramnani]

The Infinite Power of Positive Thinking

To make our life a meaningful one, we need to mind our thoughts, for our thoughts are the foundation, the inspiration, the motivating power of our deeds. We create our entire world by the way we think. Thoughts are the causes and conditions are the effects.

   Our circumstances and conditions are not dictated by the world outside; it is the world inside us that creates the outside. Self-awareness comes from the mind which means soul. Mind is the sum total of the states of consciousness grouped under thought, will and feeling. Besides self-consciousness we have the power to choose and think. Krishna says: ‘‘No man resteth a moment inactive’’. Even when inactive on the bodily plane, we are all the time acting on the thought plane. Therefore if we observe ourselves, we can easily mould our thoughts. If our thoughts are pure and noble, naturally actions follow the same. If our thoughts are filled with jealousy, hatred and greed, our actions will be the same.

   Karmically, however, thought or intent is more responsible and dynamic than an act. One may perform a charitable act, but if he does not think charitably and is doing the act just for the sake of gain and glory, it is his thoughts that will determine the result. Theosophy teaches us that every thought, no matter how fleeting, leaves a seed in the mind of the thinker. These small seeds together go to make up a large thought seed and determine one’s general character. Our thoughts affect the whole body. Each thought once generated and sent out becomes independent of the brain and mind and will live upon its own energy depending upon its intensity.

   Trying to keep a thought from our mind can produce the very state we are trying to avoid. We can alter our environment to create the mood. When, for instance, we are depressed, if we sit by ourselves trying to think cheerful thoughts, we often do not succeed. But if we mix with people who are cheerful we can bring about a change in our mood and thoughts. Every thought we think, every act we perform, creates in us an impression, and that impression, like everything else, is subject to cyclic law and becomes repetitive in our mind. So we alone have the choice to create our thoughts and develop the kind of impressions that make our action more positive.

   We fill our heads with trivial facts but we have not thought of our transformation. We have advanced technologically but it is only a step. Everything around us is changing drastically but human nature remains the same and we are influenced by our surroundings and our environment. We have no time to think about our own Self, this impacts our thoughts and the type of impressions we create in our mind.

   Let us choose the thought seeds of right ideas, noble and courageous aspirations that will be received by minds of the same nature. Right introspection will be required of us to determine what we really desire to effect. Everything in the universe is inter-related and interdependent, that we live in one another and by accepting the grand principle of universal brotherhood, we shall be in a position to appreciate what a heavy responsibility is ever ours to think right. Let us reflect and send loving and helpful thoughts and lighten the load of the world’s suffering.

[Ramesh Ramnani]

God Exists.....

A man went to a barber shop to have his hair cut and his beard trimmed.

As the barber began to work, they began to have a good conversation. They talked about so many things and various subjects.

When they eventually touched on the subject of God, the barber said: "I don't believe that God exists."

"Why do you say that?" asked the customer.

"Well, you just have to go out in the street to realize that God doesn't exist. Tell me, if God exists, would there be so many sick people? Would there be abandoned children? If God existed, there would be neither suffering nor pain. I can't imagine a loving God who would allow all of these things."

The customer thought for a moment, but didn't respond because he didn't want to start an argument.

The barber finished his job and the customer left the shop. Just after he left the barbershop, he saw a man in the street with long, stringy, dirty hair and an untrimmed beard. He looked dirty and unkempt.

The customer turned back and entered the barber shop again and he said to the barber: "You know what? Barbers do not exist."

"How can you say that?" asked the surprised barber. "I am here, and I am a barber. And I just worked on you!"

"No!" the customer exclaimed. "Barbers don't exist because if they did, there would be no people with dirty long hair and untrimmed beards, like that man outside."

"Ah, but barbers DO exist! " answered the barber. "What happens, is,
people do not come to me."

"Exactly!"- affirmed the customer.

"That's the point! God, too, DOES exist! What happens, is, people don't go to HIM and do not look for Him. That's why there's so much pain and suffering in the world."  

If you think God exists, forward this argument on to other people...

[Ramesh Ramnani]

The Carpenter's House

An elderly carpenter was ready to retire. He told his employer-contractor of his plans to leave the house building business and live a more leisurely life with his wife enjoying his extended family.

He would miss the paycheck, but he needed to retire. They could get by.

The contractor was sorry to see his good worker go and asked if he could build just one more house as a personal favor. The carpenter said yes, but in time it was easy to see that his heart was not in his work. He resorted to shoddy workmanship and used inferior materials. It was an unfortunate way to end his career.

When the carpenter finished his work and the builder came to inspect the house, the contractor handed the front-door key to the carpenter. "This is your house," he said, "my gift to you."

What a shock! What a shame! If he had only known he was building his own house, he would have done it all so differently. Now he had to live i n the home he had built none too well.

So it is with us. We build our lives in a distracted way, reacting rather than acting, willing to put up less than the best. At important points we do not give the job our best effort. Then with a shock we look at the situation we have created and find that we are now living in the house we have built. If we had realized that we would have done it differently.

Think of yourself as the carpenter. Think about your house. Each day you hammer a nail, place a board, or erect a wall. Build wisely. It is the only life you will ever build. Even if you live it for only one day more, that day deserves to be lived graciously and with dignity. The plaque on the wall says, "Life is a do-it-yourself project." Your life tomorrow will be the result of your attitudes and the choices you make today.

[Ramesh Ramnani]

Remove Blockages and Transform Your Life

Spiritual blockages are the result of mistakes of previous lives and also current life. These are ‘te’ or bad karma; harmful acts and even thoughts that you create will add to your bad karma. All aspects of one’s life are recorded in the Akashic records, or the Book of Life, which contains the history of every soul in the universe since Creation.

   Service that benefits humanity and the universe is categorised as good karma and those that harm, as bad karma. A person with good karma will receive divine blessings. Bad karma, however, is the root of blockages and disasters.

   You may or may not believe in karma. I am merely sharing my personal knowledge and views on the subject. As human beings in the physical world, we are subject to the laws of our country, state, and city. When we break these laws, we may become involved with lawyers and judges. You may not realise that every soul is subject to the spiritual laws of the universe. And, just as there are lawyers and judges in the physical world, there are lawyers and judges (so to speak) in the spiritual world, too. The effects of karma could appear instantly, or in years, or even lifetimes. If you are disciplined and committed to serving humanity, you will be freed of bad karma. Its effects will be obliterated or softened/postponed.

   Potential disasters in an individual’s life can be deferred or even averted. The more you serve, the more blessings you will receive. Think about yourself. Evaluate every aspect of your life. Some parts of your life are clearly blessed, others may not be. Correct your mistakes. Offer pure service to transform your life. It should be obvious that I believe deeply in reincarnation from my personal experience and my open spiritual channels. You may not believe in reincarnation and that is fine. But I am convinced that when we die, our soul goes to the universe, and later it will return. Up down, up down — every soul goes up and comes back to begin another life.

   The law of karma is epitomised by this Chinese saying: ‘‘Heaven is the most fair’’. For example, parents who honour, respect, and love their own parents a great deal will generally have children who love and honour them. The converse is also true. Karma is the reason why the Golden Rule can be found in a wide range of cultures and spiritual traditions. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you, because if you give love to others, you will receive love in return. If you argue with, disrespect, abuse, or hate others, you will receive conflict, disharmony, and bad treatment in return.
   
Spiritual blockages or bad karma are the root blockages in life. Think about your own life and the lives of your loved ones and friends. Do any of them make the same mistakes or encounter the same blockages again and again in their personal lives, their careers, or their family and romantic relationships? Why are they “stuck” in the same patterns? Why do some of them have such “bad luck’’? The answer is karma. If you are on a spiritual journey, you are searching for deep soul wisdom. Wisdom about karma is a key to making any spiritual journey. When you learn how to cleanse bad karma and remove spiritual blockages with your soul, mind and body, your life will be absolutely transformed.

[Ramesh Ramnani]

A Box Full of Kisses

The story goes that some time ago, a man punished his 3-year-old daughter for wasting a roll of gold wrapping paper. Money was tight and he became infuriated when the child tried to decorate a box to put under the Christmas tree. Nevertheless, the little girl brought the gift to her father the next morning and said, "This is for you, Daddy."

The man was embarrassed by his earlier overreaction, but his anger flared again when he found out the box was empty. He yelled at her, stating, "Don't you know, when you give someone a present, there is supposed to be something inside? The little girl looked up at him with tears in her eyes and cried, "Oh, Daddy, it's not empty at all. I blew kisses into the box. They're all for you, Daddy."

The father was crushed. He put his arms around his little girl, and he begged for her forgiveness.

Only a short time later, an accident took the life of the child. It is also told that her father kept that gold box by his bed for many years and, whenever he was discouraged, he would take out an imaginary kiss and remember the love of the child who had put it there.

In a very real sense, each one of us, as humans beings, have been given a gold container filled with unconditional love and kisses... from our children, family members, friends, and God. There is simply no other possession, anyone could hold, more precious than this.

[Ramesh Ramnani]

I'm Flying!

Once upon a time there was a little boy who was raised in an orphanage.

The little boy had always wished that he could fly like a bird. It was very difficult for him to understand why he could not fly. There were birds at the zoo that were much bigger than he, and they could fly. "Why can't I?" he thought. "Is there something wrong with me?" he wondered.

There was another little boy who was crippled. He had always wished that he could walk and run like other little boys and girls. "Why can't I be like them?" he thought.

One day the little orphan boy, who had wanted to fly like a bird, ran away from the orphanage. He came upon a park where he saw the little boy, who could not walk or run, playing in the sandbox.

He ran over to the little boy and asked him if he had ever wanted to fly like a bird.

"No," said the little boy who could not walk or run. "But I have wondered what i t would be like to walk and run like other boys and girls."

"That is very sad," said the little boy who wanted to fly. "Do you think we could be friends?" he said to the little boy in the sandbox.

"Sure," said the little boy.

The two little boys played for hours. They made sand castles and made really funny sounds with their mouths. Sounds which made them laugh real hard. Then the little boy's father came with a wheelchair to pick up his son. The little boy who had always wanted to fly ran over to the boy's father and whispered something into his ear.

"That would be OK," said the man.

The little boy who had always wanted to fly like a bird ran over to his new friend and said, "You are my only friend and I wish that there was something that I could do to make you walk and run like other little boys and girls. But I can't. But there is something that I can do for you."

The little orphan boy turned around and told his new friend to slide up onto his back. He then began to run across the grass. Faster and faster he ran, carrying the little crippled boy on his back. Faster and harder he ran across the park. Harder and harder he made his legs travel. Soon the wind just whistled across the two little boys' faces.

The little boy's father began to cry as he watched his beautiful little crippled son flapping his arms up and down in the wind, all the while yelling at the top of his voice,

"I'M FLYING, DADDY. I'M FLYING!"

[Ramesh Ramnani]

Hanuman and Ram: Hanuman and Ram - Bond of Brothers

Hanuman, the monkey-god, was an ardent devotee of Rama. His devotion took him wherever he was required to help Rama tide over difficulties. Most famously, Hanuman searched and found Ram's kidnapped consort Sita, brought vital healing herbs from the mountain to make a seriously wounded Lakshman well, and acted as the commander of Ram's forces.  

Hanuman, therefore, is popularly referred to as the sankat mochan , resolver of problems, easy to please. He was born on Chaitra Shukla Purnima, and there are many legends surrounding his birth. He is also known as Shankarsuvan, Kesarinandan, Pawansut - that is, son of Shankar, of Kesari and Anjani and of Pawan, the god of the winds respectively.  

Following the churning of the ocean, gods and demons fought for the possession of amrit , the celestial ambrosia. Vishnu took the form of enchantress Mohini to deflect the attention of the demons. However, Shankar got attracted by Mohini's beauty and the resulting seed was implanted in the womb of Anjani. Since Hanuman was born of Shankar's seed, he is known as Shankarsuvan.  

Another legend says Hanuman was the incarnation of the 11th Rudra. In the Yajur Veda Rudra is first called Mahadeva. The 11 Rudras are all forms of Shiva. Ravana did penance to propitiate Shiva. He offered his 10 heads to the 10 Rudras. He, however, left the eleventh Rudra unpropitiated. Shiva, pleased with Ravana's tapasya, granted him the boon to become immortal. He could not be killed by anything other than monkeys and human beings. Shiva knew that Vishnu was soon to incarnate Himself as Rama. Also wishing to witness Rama's leela, Shiva appeared on earth as a monkey, Hanuman.

Both the Skand Purana and Valmiki's Ramayana speak of the apsara dancer, Punjikasthala, who annoyed Indra. He cursed her to be born a she-monkey in her next birth. She was born to Kunjar, the monkey-king and was named Anjani. She was married to a monkey chieftain, Kesari. The childless couple did tapasya and propitiated the wind-god. The wind-god manifested himself, and granted the boon that his incarnation would be born to Anjani. So she gave birth to Hanuman who was also called Pawansut.  

The Hanuman Purana claims that his real name was Sundar, meaning beautiful. Most Hindu families organise the recitation of the Sundar Kand, as part of Ramkatha, as it is considered auspicious.
 
There is yet another interesting legend in the Anand Ramayana. The apsara Suvarchala enraged Brahma, the lord of creation, who cursed her that she would be born as a she-vulture. Brahma said that she would be redeemed from her curse in the Treta Yug when she took a portion of charu or sweet kheer (rice pudding) from the hands of Kaikeyi, and dropped it from her beak.

King Dashrath got four sons after he performed the putreshti yagya and propitiated Agnidevta. The god of fire offered Dashrath a bowl of charu which was divided among the three queens, Kaushalaya, Kaikeyi and Sumitra. When Kaikeyi was about to eat it a she-vulture swooped down and snatched a part of it, and took flight. But she found it too hot to swallow and dropped it on top of a mountain, where Anjani was engrossed in penance. Anjani caught the prasad and ate it. The "vulture" regained her original form and flew to heaven. Anjani became pregnant, like the three queens of Dashrath and gave birth to Hanuman. So in a way, Rama and Hanuman are brothers, born of the effect of the same divine prasad.

[Ramesh Ramnani]

3 WISHES.....

There is very instructive incident involving the life of Alexander, the great Greek king.
 
Alexander, after conquering many kingdoms, was returning home. On the way, he fell ill and it took him to his death bed. With death staring him in his face, Alexander realized how his conquests, his great army, his sharp sword and all his wealth were of no consequence.
 
He now longed to reach home to see his mother's face and bid her his last adieu. But, he had to accept the fact that his sinking health would not permit Him to reach his distant homeland. So,The mighty conqueror lay prostrate and pale, helplessly waiting to breathe his last. He called his generals and said, "I will depart from this world soon,
 
I have three wishes, please carry them out without fail." With tears flowing down their cheeks, the generals agreed to abide by their king's last wishes.
 
"My first desire is that," said Alexander, " My physicians alone must carry my coffin." After a pause, he continued, " Secondly, I desire that when my coffin is being carried to the grave, the path leading to the graveyard be strewn with gold, silver and precious stones which I have collected in my treasury.
 
"The king felt exhausted after saying this. He took a minute's rest and continued. "My third and last wish is that both my hands be kept dangling out of my coffin."
 
The people who had gathered there wondered at the king's strange wishes. But no one dare bring the question to their lips.

Alexander's favorite general kissed his hand and pressed them to his heart. " O king, we assure you that your wishes will all be fulfilled.
 
But tell us why do you make such strange wishes?"
 
At this Alexander took a deep breath and said: " I would like the world to know of the three lessons I have just learnt. I want my physicians to carry my coffin because people should realize that no doctor can really cure any body.
 
They are powerless and cannot save a person from the clutches of death. So let not people take life for granted .
 
The second wish of strewing gold, silver and other riches on the way to the graveyard is to tell People that not even a fraction of gold will come with me. I spent all my life earning riches but cannot take anything with me. Let people realize that it is a sheer waste of time to chase wealth.
 
And about my third wish of having my hands dangling out of the coffin, I wish people to know that I came empty handed into this world and empty handed I go out of this world."

With these words, the king closed his eyes. Soon he let death conquer him and breathed his last. . . . .

[Ramesh Ramnani]

NEVER EAT ANYTHING WITHOUT SHARING IT WITH OTHERS

In Ch. 24, Sai Baba has conveyed this principle very effectively by making fun of Annasaheb Dabholkar, the author of Shri Sai Satcharita, when some grains of gram were seen stuck in the folds of his coat's sleeve. Sai Baba further explained that, when no person or animal is present nearly, one should offer it to Baba by remembering Him. This will result in the devotee avoiding food, which is impure and not fit to be enjoyed. He further explained that this method should be employed not in case of the sense of
taste only but in case of all senses viz. sight," touch etc. also.

To illustrate this, Hemadpant in the same Chapter, has narrated the story of Sudama - a co-student of Shri Krishna and Balaram in the ashram of their Guru Sandipani. Once when these students were collecting firewood in the forest, Krishna was thirsty and asked for some water. Sudama advised him not to drink water without eating something. Shri Krishna, therefore, rested his head on Sudama's lap and slept. After sometime Shri Krishna woke up and heard Sudama chewing something. Shri Krishna asked Sudama as to what he was
eating. But, Sudama, although he was eating grams, told Shri Krishna a lie that he was not eating anything; but his teeth were chattering because of cold. Later, as a result of this, Sudama, although a churn of Lord Krishna, had to pass his life in utter poverty.

However, when he later offered Shri Krishna a handful of parched rice, earned by his wife with her own labour, Shri Krishna was pleased and gave him a golden mansion to live and enjoy.

Baba Himself never ate anything without sharing it with others. Everyday He used to go out begging and whatever food was collected. He used to place it in the earthen bowl in the Masjid. Some beggars used to pinch 3-4 breads and dogs and birds used to eat out of it; but Baba never drove them away.

Whenever any devotee offered Him fruits and richly cooked food, He hardly tasted it and distributed amongst the devotees present. Every afternoon, when in the Dwarkamai, the meal was served and ready to cat, Baba used to call out for Bade Baba (a Fakir from Malegaon) and used to make him seat next to Him on His left respectfully as an honoured guest. Not only this, but after the meal, Baba used to pay him Rs. 50 as dakshina and walk with him upto 100 paces to see him off.

In the Taittiriya Upanishad, Anuvak 11, it is slated 'Atithi Devo Bhava (May the guest be, to thee, a God). In Bhagvat Geeta also Shri Krishna in Ch. 3, says, Yadnyashishtashinaha santo muchyante sarvakilbishaih | Bhujjate te twagham papa ye pachantyatmakaranaat ||13|| (The virtuous, who partake of what is left after sacrifice, are absolved of all sins. The sinful ones, who only cook and eat for themselves eat only sin.) Thus Sai Baba taught this principle of not partaking any food without sharing with others both by precept and example very effectively.

'Atithi' (guest) literally means 'without date'. Hence a guest in the above context should mean, one, who appears unexpectedly and stays not more than one day or date. In the present days of towering prices and food rationing, therefore, this meaning would have to be borne in mind to ensure that an unwanted and persisting person docs not take advantage of our generous nature.